4.12.12

SWEET 16

Well,
Luca Brecel did it after a right old slog at the Barbican Centre last night,
beating Ricky Walden 6-5 in a late night burn-up in York.

This
was a match whose quality gradually dipped, which had the effect of increasing
the dramatic tension. Snooker often does this and it’s one of the reasons the
sport has been so successful on television. It can deliver different kinds of
matches.

For
instance, you could only marvel at Neil Robertson’s exhibition snooker in
making four centuries to dismiss Tom Ford 6-1. This was the game played at the
highest standard.

But
a right old grind when the nerves are jangling – even if the standard is much
lower – is also compulsive viewing.

Brecel
was right to be jubilant at the win. It’s a good one. He may still be a little
raw but he seems to relish being out there. It all bodes well for the future.

He
plays Mark King next after the Romford man beat a below par Mark Williams 6-3.

Williams
was disgusted with his own performance. He seems to be lacking confidence. It shows
how hard a game snooker is if even the true greats can struggle for self
belief.

But
King was impressive. He has quietly had some good results in the run-in to this
tournament, qualifying for both the European Tour event in Munich in January
and the German Masters.

Poor
Dominic Dale looked wretched and fears he may have shingles. Credit to him for even
turning up, but he was turned over, 6-1 by Matthew Stevens.

The
last 16 gets underway today with Stevens up against Marco Fu and Ali Carter
taking on Mark Joyce this afternoon.

Tonight
it’s Stephen Maguire against Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy against the man
who replaced him as world champion in 2006, Graeme Dott.

Will
the winner come from this octet?

Well,
Stevens, Maguire and Murphy have all won the UK title before and only Joyce has
failed to win a ranking title.

He
beat Carter in the UK Championship two years ago but this was after Ali had been in hospital undergoing
treatment for Crohn’s disease.

Carter
has hopefully weathered this storm. It affected him so badly last season that
he threatened retirement but he stuck at it and of course went on to reach a
second world final.

Maguire
v Bingham could well prove to be the match of the day. The Scot made three
successive centuries during his first round match and Bingham is
super-confident with the run he’s been on.

Really sorry to ask but I've been prompted by Matt Selt's blog on the World Snooker website - have World Snooker confirmed that the defending champion hasn't entered the Worlds (as the deadline for entries has passed now)?

Matt has some interesting things to say about Judd (interesting for a blog on the official website of the governing body anyway) - the candour makes a nice change though!

What's with the obsession of, having missed a pot, zooming in on the player, following him back to his seat, close up of his face trying to determine hs reaction....whereas, all we are interested in is what he has left for his opponent.Does the producer play snooker ?